Beautiful Work of Art
by Dee Lee
Summary: Love is like art: Even the most outcast and unruly piece can be so beautiful. Skate. Set sometime after The Hunting Party.
1. Dreams

**Beautiful Work of Art**

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost or its characters. If I did, i wouldn't be writing fanfiction, would I?

Summary: Love is like art; Even the most outcast and unruly piece can be so beautiful. Skate.

A/N: Ok, here's my first Skate story. I know this chapter is a little short, but other ones will be much longer. I'm not really sure if I should continue this story, or write another one with similar things. So please, please review and tell me what you thought! I accept good or bad reviews so please tell me what I can improve on and what you liked and didn't.

* * *

Sawyer ran. He ran threw the jungle; fast-paced and heavily. He ran as fast as his body would let him. One of his rough hands was grasped strongly around Kate's soft and delicate one. Behind them roared the horrible echoing sound that was the monster. Sawyer frantically ducked and leaped over tree branches and tree roots, thinking of nothing but making sure Kate got back to camp safely. 

Suddenly he was pulled back as Kate gave a cry and tripped over a broken tree branch. He slowed down and stopped, bending down carefully and helping Kate to her feet. Her beautiful face and her clothes were soaked in mud and water, and she looked so helpless. A small amount of blood was trickling down a side of Sawyer's face, but luckily, only tears had run down Kate's. She smiled up at him and gave a word of thanks. For a second she just stared into Sawyer's blue-grey eyes, as he stared into her brown ones. A roar yanked the two back to reality just as a tree was ripped from the ground behind them.

Kate screamed and reached for Sawyer's hand. He grabbed it quickly and began to run again, with her sprinting along just behind him. The monster was gaining on them. They could hear its estranged cry as if it were breathing in their ears. They tried to quicken their pace, but without much success.

"Sawyer!" Kate yelled from behind him, her voice high and strangled. "If something happens to us, I just wanted you to know that-"

"In here!" Sawyer shouted backwards, cutting across her words and pulling her into an alcove of bamboo trees that seemed enclosed, but had a tiny opening small enough for the two to squeeze into.

It was small and cramped, and there was no space for the two of them to move around. Kate was thrust against Sawyer's chest, but it was not as if she would have done anything else if given the chance. He looked down at her and wrapped his strong arms tightly around her torso, trying to ignore his heart pounding even faster (if possible) as he did so. She seemed to be weeping onto his shirt.

"Sawyer," she breathed, hiccupping and wiping her face with the back of his hand, looking up at him again.

Silence followed. The jungle was deadly silent. The only noise that could be heard was the loud breathing of both Kate and Sawyer.

"It's alright, Kate," he whispered back, running a hand through her chocolate-brown locks.

Suddenly something attacked at the thick bamboo trees next to them. The monster roared again in fury.

"Sawyer!" Kate screamed again, burying her head into his chest. Worry was etched into their faces, but their worry was only that the other might get hurt.

He was about to whisper "It's alright" again, but the trees shook and the monster screeched.

She looked up at his face, and without hesitation she put her arm around his neck and pulled him down towards her. Their faces wereabout an inch apart. Sawyer closed his eyes...

Sawyer jerked awake and opened his eyes. He sighed. He had been having the same dream ever since he woke up in the hatch. Kate seemed to have a huge power over him, and he couldn't explain what it was. Like in the dream, whenever he was around her, his heart was pounding fast and heavily, and he got a fluttering feeling in his stomach. Every time that happened, he just shook it off. Maybe he was having the dreams because he felt guilty about revealing to everyone that she was a fugitive? It wasn't that, he had also had that dream the day after they had swum in the lake and they had found that case. He had also had it the day after Kate had helped him track down the rogue boar. However, he never seemed to be able to finish it. It always ended at that point.

A shadow loomed over his resting place, and he lazily looked up to see Kate smiling down at him. His heart pounded.

"Good morning, Sawyer."

"Mornin', Freckles," he replied, smirking. "Do you have to wake me up every morning?"

"That's because you need your antibiotics and your bandages changed nearly every morning," Kate smiled, placing her hands on her hips. "And then you need to do your exercises.

"Yippee," he grumbled.

She turned around and walked away, presumably in the direction of the hatch. Kate was obviously still upset about Jack's constant neglecting, so she tried to be around him as least as she possibly could. This suited Sawyer fine.

"You gonna give me a hand?" he said loudly.

Kate turned around sharply, shrugged, and continued walking, obviously remembering the last time he had said that. She had pulled him up and suddenly realized that he was close. Dangerously close.

"Hey!" Sawyer cried in mock anger.

He got up slowly and raced after her. She flipped around to face him, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

* * *

A/N: Please review and tell me what you liked or didn't like. Please? 


	2. Dance like no one is watching

**Chapter 2: Dance like no one is watching**

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Lost. Do you reallythink that J.J. and the crew would really write fanfiction about their own show?

A/N: Ok, Here's the second chapter. Yay! It's up quickly isn't it? Yay! Reviews! I love you guys. . Yeah, I think her eyes are green. thanks for pointing that out.

* * *

"So, Sassafras, what we got planned today?" Sawyer inquired as he and Kate trudged through the jungle to the hatch. He swatted a fly away from his face lazily, but it just came back.

"Well we get your bandages changed, we do your exercises and then I'm on button duty with Hurley," Kate replied, shrugging, her emerald green eyes dancing with amusement as she watched Sawyer's hopeless battle of making the fly go away. She laughed as his slapped his face.

"So what do I do when you're doin' that?" Sawyer asked her, a little angry and hurt that she was laughing at him.

Kate shrugged again, pushing a branch away from her face. "How should I know? You can do whatever you want."

"How come I'm never on 'button duty'?"

"What is this? 21 questions?" She found it impossible not to laugh. "Why are you so interested? It's not like its fun. But hey, we get to have a shower and do our laundry."

Sawyer chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well anyway, I don't think you're on button duty because… well, I'm not sure, maybe Locke doesn't trust you," she lied. She had no idea why he wasn't on duty. Basically everyone else with the exception of Claire and a few others weren't.

"I wonder why he doesn't trust me?" Sawyer mused sarcastically.

Kate grinned, turning around to face him. She kept staring into his handsome face and didn't see the log on the ground. Her leg came in contact with it and she fell backwards. In a split second Sawyerhad grabbed her before she touched the ground. He pulled her up instantly and wrapped his strong arms around her torso. Flushing with embarrassment, Kate mumbled a brief "Thank you", and tried to pull away, but Sawyer had fastened his hold onKate and pulled her closer. Her whole body tingled with excitement.

"Sawyer," she muttered, looking up at him and trying to escape.

Licking his lips and suddenly realizing what he was doing, he released her from his grasp and said clearly, "You're welcome."

She smiled and turned her back to him and continued to walk. She didn't want him to see the extremely red tinge in her cheeks.

An awkward silence prolonged as the two wandered through the forest. Kate hated herself for suddenly becoming shy, and it wasn't helping that the 'never-shuts-up' guy behind her wasn't talking either.

Getting lost in thinking of something to say, Kate hadn't realized that they had already reached the door to the hatch.

Sawyer opened the door for Kate and smirked saying, "Ladies first."

She smiled up at him. "Why thank you, kind sir," she almost laughed.

To avoid the urge to continue looking at him, Kate forced herself to walk into the hatch. He followed in after her, keeping a firm gaze on her behind.

"Jack?" Kate called into the seemingly empty hatch. She shivered, as she got a feeling of where Sawyer was looking.

"In here," a familiar voice yelled from the computer room.

Kate nodded fervently at Sawyer and strolled into the computer room. Jack was in there reading a book. He looked up at Sawyer and went to get the bandages, having completely ignored Kate. He returned shortly after and began to change Sawyer's bandages, eitherneglecting or failing to notice Kate's frown.

"Hey, Kate, can you…" Jack's was about to ask her to get something for him, but his voice trailed off and he frowned in confusion. Kate was not there.

Sawyer looked around the room, wondering how long she had not been there. He swore that she had been right behind him a few seconds ago. "Freckles?"

They both sighed. After Jack had finished, he said something about going to the caves and he packed up and left.

"Freckles?" Sawyer called again.

"She just left, dude," Hurley told him, entering the hatch looking very flustered. "She pushed past me saying that she'd be back in a few minutes. She looked upset, Dude."

Sawyer's eyebrows furrowed low over his eyes as he scowled, not knowing why he did so.

"You know where she went?" Sawyer questioned Hurley.

"No, sorry man," Hurley replied.

Sawyer raised his eyebrows as he pondered his next actions. Should he go after her or just wait until she returned?

* * *

Kate sneaked into the hatch silently a while after she left, peering around for a sign of Sawyer or Jack. Kate couldn't stand being ignored by Jack any longer, and she was still deciding whether or not all the time she was spending with Sawyer was a compensation of losing Jack or she just liked spending time with him. She had to give herself credit though, being so silent that no one noticed her disappearing act.

Although she hated admitted it to herself, but she did indeed enjoy the increasing amount of time she was spending with Sawyer. She knew she felt something for him, but was that just lust or was it love? Or was it just her forcing herself to have those feelings? Kate didn't really understand what love was. She had loved Tom (or she had thought so at least) but he was dead and it was her fault. She didn't want something bad to happen to either Jack or Sawyer.

"Hey Hurley," she smiled at the large man and sat next to him on the couch.

"Hey. Sawyer and Jack were looking for you."

"They were? Do you know where they are?" She asked, a little confused. Did he say _Jack_ was looking for her?

"Uhh… Jack went to the caves, and I'm not sure where Sawyer went. I didn't see if he stayed in here or went out of the hatch," he explained.

"Oh, ok."

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The beeping of timer echoed through the hatch.

"I'll get that," Kate jumped up, walking over to the computer.

"Good, cause I hate typing those numbers,"Hurley grumbled, only slightly audible. However, Kate didn't hear him.

_4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42._

"Listen, Kate? Can I go to the caves to talk with Jack?" Hurley stammered, unsure whether or not to ask her this because they had just begun their shift.

"Umm, sure," Kate replied, as the timer flicked back to 108.

Hurley nodded and left the hatch.

Silence.

Kate looked around, wondering if perhaps Sawyer was still here.

"Sawyer?" she yelled, but got no response.

She shrugged, figuring that he had left.

She ambled her way over into the room which held the record player. It was too quiet for Kate's liking.

She flipped through the records, hardly knowing any of them except for the Patsy Kline one. She picked out the record by Mama Cass, and put it on.

_Nobody can tell you_

_There's only one song worth singing_

_They may try and sell you_

_Cause it hangs them up to see someone like you_

Kate smiled and twirled around. She looked around just in case someone was here. She hadn't danced in a long time.

_But you've gotta make your own kind of music_

_Sing your own special song_

_Make your own kind of music_

_Even if nobody else sings along_

Kate felt like a fool dancing around. But she also felt so free and alive. Flashes of Sawyer and Jack and even Tom keptrunning through her head. Flashes of her past. Flashes of when she danced with her husband at her wedding. Flashing of her pretending to be happy when she really was miserable. But she didn't care if she felt like a fool. No one was watching her. Or were they?

_But you've gotta make your own kind of music_

_Sing your own special song_

_Make your own kind of music_

_Even if nobody else sings along_

"Gee, Freckles, never thought you were the dancing type."

Kate stopped immediately and almost fell over in shock. She had been so immersed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Sawyer standing a few feet away from her.


	3. Lost in Thought

**Beautiful Work of Art:**

**Chapter 3- Lost in Thought**

A/n: Ok, here's chapter 3. Thank you sooooo much to my reviewers! I love you guys! Please keep them coming!

* * *

Kate stood up straight again trying to regain her posture. Sawyer had scared the hell out of her. But looking at him, she immediately blushed. He was only wearing a towel and was soaking wet. His hair was damp and his toned body was dripping with water. As much as she hated thinking it, she thought Sawyer was so god damn sexy.

"Wow, wish I could see that every day," Sawyer commented on her dancing.

"Why were you watching me?" she huffed angrily, placing her hands on her hips and frowning, not in anger, but amusement.

"I wasn't watching you!" He told her unconvincingly, putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her down a little. "I was comin' to get my clothes."

He pointed to a stack of clothes on the couch in the middle of the room. Kate felt stupid and embarrassed, having not seen them before.

"What were you doing in the shower?" she asked him.

She then sighed, regretting saying it immediately because she knew that a sarcastic remark was coming.

"Oh, I don't know," he mused thoughtfully. "Perhaps I was havin' a cup of tea?"

Kate smiled and tried to force down the laugh that was rising in her throat.

He moved around her, and went to get his clothes. Whether accidentally or purposely Kate didn't know, Sawyer brushed his arm against her chest as he passed.

She moved out of his way and went to stand in the doorway, but then she realized that she was still in his way from getting out of the room.

He moved close to her and whispered in her ear, "Do you mind?"

She hid her blush and the shivers that wereclimbing her body and scooted to the side.

He smiled at her warmly, and went back into the bathroom to change.

Kate groaned, and kicked her self mentally after picturing Sawyer naked.

She checked the timer on the wall and saw it was set at 90 minutes. She sighed again and checked her watch. She had only been on her shift for about 25 minutes. It was going to be a long 6 hours, especially if Sawyer hung around. But at the moment, she wasn't sure how long before she wanted Hurley to return.

A minute or so later, Sawyer exited the bathroom fully clothed.

He sat down on the computer chair and spun once around, his eyes glistening with a mischievous twinkle.

She couldn't help but smile at him. Was this really the same angry man who had shot a polar bear and had got tortured? Was this the same man she had kissed? _Not entirely, _said a little voice in her head.

"So, Freckles, what do you suggest we do for the next 6 hours?"

"We?" she scoffed at him. "The only 'we' there is, is Hurley and I. Sorry, Cowboy, but you aren't included. So you better go back to the beach."

She smirked at him as he stared back at her in disbelief.

"Wow, Freckles, I never knew you and Jabba had a connection."

Kate groaned again.

As if on cue a voice shouted through the hatch, "Dude's, I'm back."

Sawyer smirked his infamous smirk and got up, threw a very sarcastic look at Kate and said to Hurley, "Well, I'll let you two get on with it." And he exited the hatch.

Hurley looked back at Kate in confusion. She rolled her eyes and sat down on the swivel chair that Sawyer had just got off of. She leaned on the desk and put her head in her hands.

"You alright, Kate?"

"Yeah, I'm just…" she stopped, wondering what she was going to say next.

"Sawyer's just annoying me, that's all."

"He does that to everyone."

She smiled at him. "Oh, yeah, how could I have forgotten?"

"But he tries especially hard to please, and annoy you."

* * *

Walking into the vast and humid jungle, Sawyer moseyed his way along, stopping every few seconds when he was lost in thought.

Just to watch her twirl around. Just to see her mime the lyrics to the song. Just to see her blush when he "accidentally" touched her.

She seemed to be in his thoughts every second. And trying not to think about her, made him of course, think even more about her. He had left the hatch mainly to get away from her.

She was so beautiful the way she moved. So graceful the way her curly brown hair flipped gently over her shoulders as she danced. Her body had curved and swerved, catching him in a trance.

She was like his addiction, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake her.

But the strange thing was; sex with Kate wasn't the only thing he cared about with her. He just wanted to be with her. And for Sawyer, this was an extremely strange thing.

"Son of a bitch!" he cried out randomly into the deadly silent jungle. The chirping of an innocent bird taking flight, and the slight rustle of leaves as the wind swayed them were the only other sounds.

He collapsed to his knees and banged the ground with his fists. Why? Why couldn't he stop thinking about her? Why couldn't she be like the other girls that he had been with? Why did she have to be in love with Jack? It was bad enough having her haunt him during the nights, let alone during the days as well. His dreams scared him. And for some reason he could not explain, he had a weird premonition that those dreams might come true.

* * *

"So, this is fun isn't it?" Hurley asked lamely as they sat in silence in the bedroom of the hatch.

"Devastatingly," Kate replied icily. As much as she would have hated to admit it, button duty would be a whole lot more fun if Sawyer had hung around. Hurley seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

She had been thinking of Sawyer non-stop since he had left. Him and Jack that is. Jack was the hero. The handsome, responsible, kind, heroic doctor. While Sawyer was… well compared to Jack he wasn't really anything. A con man. A sexy, charming, witty con man. But she couldn't help thinking that this whole relationship that they had been building was a con.

And at the moment she had no Jack either. No Jack to cry on. He was off with Ana-Lucia. Kate had been deserted when she came into town. She had betrayed him. She had lied to him. And the only one who seemed to understand her was Sawyer, even if she had never told him her feelings. Sawyer was the bad boy. Jack was the good boy. She had always heard her Mom telling her "You fall for the bad boy, but marry the good boy." Was that judging on her Dad and Wayne? Was that what she really wanted? To fall for Sawyer but marry Jack? She knew she had feelings for them both, she couldn't deny it. But the same question she had encountered before kept running through her head. Was it love? Or was it just lust?

Thinking of that made her think of… her dreams. Every now and again (well practically every night) she had been have strange dreams.

She hopelessly tried again to pursue a conversation with Hurley to clear her head.


	4. Blue Dreaming

**Beautiful Work of Art- Chapter 4**

**Blue Dreaming**

**A/N:** Ok, here's chapter 4. Thanks so much to my reviewers! I hope you all like the concept of them having strange dreams. Please review and tell me what you liked and didn't like!

* * *

The gentle breeze ruffled the green leaves. The sound of cool, calm water echoed throughout the forest. The only other sounds that could be heard were the soft chirping of a bird, and the almost silent footsteps of bare feet that slowly traveled through the jungle. The moon was out, and its brightness seemed to be casting a very white light over the jungle, making it look even more serenely beautiful. The moon fitted perfectly with the dark blue sky, which was cloudless and scattered with handfuls of shining stars.

The footsteps belonged to a woman. She had long chocolate brown curls that hung loosely over her body. Her emerald green eyes were calm, yet alert. She wore a long silk white dress that fell down to her ankles, and hugged her body perfectly. If anyone saw her, they would be under the impression that she was wandering through the picturesque forest without any purpose or meaning. But she was really looking. Looking for something she couldn't explain. She did not know what she was looking for, yet she knew it was there.

As she walked, the moon seemed to illuminate the path she had to follow. It looked as if the trees were jumping out of her way to let her pass. Suddenly, a stick snapped behind her. It was an unexpected noise in the quiet of the forest. Kate jumped and flung herself around very quickly, a movement that was not thought capable of this woman. But her innocent demeanor was in fact the opposite of her real self. A criminal. A murderer. A fugitive.

There was nothing behind her. She turned around again and continued walking. A white thing glowed in the distance, but she couldn't tell what it was. Sje had to know what it was. Her footsteps quickened, and she was soon running. A few seconds later however, she had tripped on a log that had appeared out of nowhere.

She let out a cry as she tumbled to the ground. Mud splashed all over her silky white dress and body. She groaned and looked up. The white thing that was now only a few meters away was… a unicorn? Yes, it was indeed a unicorn. But how could that be possible? Horses were one thing, but a mythical creature that didn't even exist? She subconsciously found herself drawing nearing to the unicorn until she was only a foot away from it. She reached out a long hand to pat it, but the unicorn had already trotted merrily away, neighing. She hurried after it, but now the forest seemed to be blocking her way through.

The jungle suddenly stopped and Kate found herself in front of a waterfall. In fact, it was the same waterfall that she had came upon before, and found the U.S Marshal's case in the water. Her eyes searched the area quickly. There was no sign of the unicorn. Kate had also noticed that the white light from the moon had changed to an eerie blue. It captured the area and seemed to freeze time. The waterfall halted, as did the wind. Kate, as the only moving thing, twirled around for some sign of a sort. But nothing came.

As she turned back to face the water, something caught her eye. It was a silver necklace. A round stone was placed in the middle. A sapphire. It shimmered in the strange blue light, and it was floating in the air. Kate could feel the beauty of this necklace drawing her towards it. Her legs seemed to be moving without her consent, and before she knew it, she was reaching up and getting the necklace.

Kate gasped. She was standing on top of the lake. On top of the water. So she wouldn't lose it, she quickly put the necklace on her neck. Suddenly, the water beneath her feet gave way and she fell in. The wind began blowing again and the waterfall gushed down water. Time had unfrozen.

Kate tried to swim upwards, but the white dress had become extremely heavy and was weighing her down. She tried to gasp for breathe, kicking as hard as she could to reach the surface, but she just couldn't make it. Her body was aching and running out of air quickly. When all hope seemed lost and Kate had given up, a hand reached through the water, grabbed her, and pulled her swiftly up.

And as if time had frozen again, the water and the wind stopped, and Kate stood on top of the water. She breathlessly looked up at the face of her rescuer.

"Sawyer?"

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. All of her worries of falling back in and drowning drifted away at his touch. Her weak body felt as if she was going to fall down, but Sawyer wouldn't let her go.

"Don't worry, Kate, you're safe."

Kate. To hear that word from him sounded so foreign to her.

"Sawyer," she breathed, burying her face into his chest. It took her a few more moments to realize she was now dry and mud-free.

Sawyer had moved his arms around so that he was now hugging her. Kate could feel tears running down her face.

She carefully, almost timidly, put her arm around his neck and pulled him down towards her. Their lips were inches apart when…

"Yo, Kate. Our shift is over."

She groaned before she opened her eyes. It had just been a dream. But it had felt so real. She was still confused as to whether or not she actually wanted it to be real though. Almost drowning, seeing unicorns, finding a beautiful necklace and being saved by… Sawyer. In a strange way, she actually wished that it was real. But no, she didn't want to be saved by Sawyer, did she? It painfully reminded her of her other dream…

As Kate got up sleepily and followed Hurley out of the hatch, passing Sun and Jin who were on the next shift, she felt something on her neck. She looked down and gasped in surprise. She was wearing a silver necklace with a round sapphire stone.


End file.
